More than 40 years ago, he became the first person from his rural family to study at a university in China.
Four decades on he was appointed chancellor of UC Riverside, a prestigious school in the United States.
The story of S. Jack Hu, a Chinese-American who is the first individual with a bachelor’s education from mainland China to head a top US institution, has trended on social media, inspiring millions of internet users.
The 62-year-old Hu, whose Chinese name is Hu Shixin, hails from a village in Changde in central Hunan province.
He studied engineering machinery at Tianjin University in China, receiving a bachelor’s degree in 1983.